Updates about Olive Tree Genealogy website and other FREE genealogy records. Bringing you tutorials, genealogy book and app reviews, genealogy news, genealogy specials and more. Helping you find your family tree and ancestors.

December 16, 2012

Sharing Memories (Week 51): Family Crafts & Skills

Welcome to Week 51 of our 52 weeks of Sharing Memories - A Genealogy Journey for 2012. I hope you'll join us and share your memoirs and childhood memories for your descendants. If
you are just joining us, please take a peek at our
earlier prompts (There are over 150!) that will help you write your
stories. Just click on the Sharing Memories tab at the top of Olive Tree
Genealogy blog. You can jump in at any time and you can skip topics and
prompts
that you don't like. There are no rules, it's all about getting your
stories and memories down on paper. The prompts are here as a guide to
help if you
are stuck for ideas.

I saw a post on Facebook from Cemetery Records Online that asked the question "What
cottage skills were passed down in your family (such as knitting, wood
working, tatting, bread-making, etc)? Who has taught their children
also?"

What a great topic for our sharing memories post today! What did you learn from your mom, dad or other family member? Maybe an aunt or your grandma taught you how to make pies. Perhaps your uncle or grandfather showed you how to carve a whistle out of wood.

My mother knew how to knit and crochet. In fact she knit constantly in her free time. And she taught my sister how to knit but not me. It was never offered as an option - I don't know why. My aunt (her sister) knew how to knit, crochet and tat but she wasn't around enough to show me any of those skills

My mother was a terrible cook so I learned to cook on my own, using a cookbook I took out of our local library. However I did learn how to clean fish, how to put a worm on a hook and so on from my dad! What skills did you learn and who taught you?

6 comments:

Charleen
said...

In fact it was our aunt who taught me to knit; she probably wasn't around enough when you were young. She also taught my youngest daughter (your niece) to crochet. Our mom didn't learn to crochet until she was in her 60's )or maybe 70's) and they were spending their winters in the southern US states.

Yes, Lily taught her - she was so proud of her new skill. My girls and I got ponchos that were made from many crochet squares that she then sewed together. She only did it for about a year; I am sure she was much more comfortable with knitting - she could do that without watching what she was doing. I don't think she had the patience to teach anyone knitting, I am sure if Lily hadn't taught me I would not have learned.

What a deluge of instant memories I just had. That was quite a door you opened. Both my mother and grandmother, who lived with us, were top notch at kintting and crocheting. They both would ply their craft while 'watching' TV in the evening. This was a hold over from when there was only radio to entertain them. My mother would knit hats and mittens - we were never without a dry pair! She crocheted afghans, table cloths and bedspreads (the popcorn stitch!!) My grandmother was a whiz with the tiniest of crotchet needles putting fancy lace edges on Irish linen handkerchiefs. She made pot holders by the dozen and also did afghans, tablecloths and bedspreads. Many of these items were sold at the church bazaar or other community fairs near the holidays. Sometimes the larger items were raffled off. I did learn how to knit and crochet, but working full time and raising a family eventually won the battle for my time. What fantastic memories I have of both them, busy with their handwork, while the rest of the family watched TV. Thanks for the memories!!

My Mother taught me to hand embroider when I was 4-5 years of age. I use to sit beside her as she taught me. She also taught me to Sew at age 6-7 and by age 10 I could sew as good as she. I and 68 now and I sew childrens clothing, quilt, hand embroider, for I find that the child hood lessons from my Mother are still a big part of my life. My Mothers legacy lives on in my Grand Daughter.

I'm an incurable collector of
antiques, an avid genealogist and a messy but creative cook! I blog, i write history and genealogy books. My main genealogy website is Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Sometimes I receive compensation if you buy something from one of the companies that advertise on my blog. Some companies simply pay me for advertising space on my blog. I am not paid to write about products or services. Sometimes authors or publishers send me a book to review. I get to keep the book but I write an honest review. RootsTech paid for my registration at the 2011 Conference in exchange for me blogging and tweeting about it but they did not tell me what to say.